Comparative Patterns of Youth Sports Specialization, Training Characteristics, and Injuries in Team vs. Individual Sports
(Bartosz Wilczyński, Jakub Buler, Rafał Buler, Michał Grochowski, Bartosz Puchalski, Rodrigo Ramirez-Campillo, Mariola Gepfert, Katarzyna Zorena)

The increasing specialization of youth sports has raised concerns about higher injury rates and emotional burnout, with conflicting research on whether the risks differ between team and individual sports. This study examined patterns of sports specialization, injury history, and training characteristics among youth athletes in Poland. A total of 271 athletes aged 8–16 years (41% female) from clubs and schools participated in the study. Measures included injury history, the specialization level, training volume, and demographic factors (age, sex, and residence). Team sport athletes showed higher specialization levels than those in individual sports (2.23 ± 0.65 vs. 1.83 ± 0.79, p < 0.001) and trained more weekly hours in their main sport (10.54 ± 3.65 vs. 5.62 ± 2.93, p < 0.001). No significant differences in injury history were found between groups (p = 0.15). Factors significantly associated with team sport participation included being male (odds ratio [OR] = 4.28, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.47–7.40), older age (OR = 2.56, CI: 1.99–3.30), and urban residence (OR = 4.45, CI: 2.09–9.45). Machine learning analysis (SHAP) identified weekly training volume in the main sport as the most influential predictor of the sport type. In summary, team sport athletes exhibited greater training loads and higher specialization levels than individual sport athletes. Demographic factors were also strongly associated with sport type selection. Weekly training volume in the main sport emerged as the most critical indicator of participation in either team or individual sports.